SB Nation - Trevor Pryce

Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations

Ted Bartlett — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:30:25 -0000

about 1 month ago: Baltimore Ravens cornerback Lardarius Webb, left, carries the ball for a touchdown as Denver Broncos safety David Bruton pursues during the third quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

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Happy Tuesday, friends, if you can manage one. Welcome to another edition of Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations. Well, this was bound to happen, right? Since Sunday afternoon, I have been thinking about what the right tone is to take with this week's ST&NO. I still haven't decided, and it's Monday at 5 PM as I write this paragraph. I guess I am just going to go with it, and play it like it feels. We had an ugly loss, and to top it off, there were only 4 late games, and no Sunday night game, so I didn't see a lot of live football, at all. We'll make do, because that's all we can do. Out of the echo chamber, and into the fire y'all. Ready.... BEGIN!!!!

1. The two plays which set the tone for yesterday's game happened at the beginning of each half. On the Broncos' first play from scrimmage, Jarret Johnson came in untouched and unrecognized off the defense's left side, and creamed Kyle Orton for a big loss. As I watched the play happen, I couldn't help but think that the Broncos may not be well-prepared if they weren't expecting a lot of blitzing.

As the second half got underway, Lardarius Webb took the opening kickoff back 95 yards for a TD. That took a manageable 6-0 halftime deficit to 13-0, and essentially dictated that the Broncos start playing come-from-behind football. You see the picture of this play, and I used it because it sticks in my craw (whatever a craw is), and I want it stick in yours, too. I guarantee it bothers the coaches and players. You can't have that happen and expect to win.

The final score, 30-7, sounds like a blowout, but this game wasn't really that. This game swung on field position, and third-down performance, which was directly driven by down-and-distance situations. The Ravens made key plays on 3rd down, and the Broncos missed opportunities to make those plays.

There's an offensive concept called staying on schedule, and it means that from first and 10, you get to 2nd and 6, and then to 3rd and 2. All your down-and-distance situations are manageable if you stay on schedule. It's a really good thing to do every game, but it's absolutely imperative against a team like Baltimore, which can bring a bunch of overload pressure and force a QB to either throw way short of the first down or eat the ball.

Actually, the Broncos did a great job throughout the game with first-down defense, and getting Baltimore off schedule themselves. The Ravens, though, led by Joe Flacco, made enough plays to negate those early-down advantages.

The world didn't end, and all we can hope is that some lessons are learned from the experience by the players and coaches, and that those lessons are applied to future situations. Sometimes a loss is a growth opportunity, and I think that there is a solid reson to think that this loss was one of those.

2. Information From My Eyes. Denver Broncos at Baltimore Ravens:

a. I thought Mitch Berger was awul on Sunday, despite Josh McDaniels' charitable comments about his performance. Hang time is fine, but I want changes in field position. The Broncos lost the field position game the whole first half, in large part because of bad punting.

b. I disliked the offensive game plan and the play calling. The 3rd-and-5 sweep for Correll Buckhalter on the second series is an example. I thought there were too many screens against a team which clearly came to stop the screen. I wanted to see more use of Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal agains the Baltimore CBs, and I am perplexed as to why we didn't get more of that.

c. I was really pleased with the way that Mario Haggan was consistently setting the edge in this game. He has a physical style of play which is perfect for the position he plays. It's pretty shocking that he was basically a special teamer only in Buffalo, because he's a top-notch 3-4 OLB.

d. I don't blame Knowshon Moreno very much for the fumble (this time). That play was doomed from the start, with Jarret Johnson forcing a high throw and tough catch, and Moreno turning right into a thumping from Ed Reed.

e. Andra Davis is playing at a Pro Bowl level this season, when he is on the field. He plays downhill all the time and has a great sense of timing with the snap count. The great thing about him is that he seems to be cool with coming off the field on 3rd downs, and letting Wesley Woodyard play the long-yardage situations, which Woodyard's much better suited for.

f. There was a lot of dancing by Brandon Marshall on his four catches. I'd like to see him get upfield quicker after the catch. I'd also like to see him use his physicality to get open on some downfield stuff.

g. I was tired by 10:30 Monday night, when I re-watched this game, so I didn't tally anything, but anecdotally, the screen game was a complete disaster on offense for the Broncos.

h. Kyle Orton had two easy interceptions dropped in this game. One was on a play where he got crushed and the ball came out weakly, and the other was a terrible decision, with Jarret Johnson sitting in an underneath zone, and Dawan Landry right behind him. Orton needs to play better than he did Sunday, like the rest of the offense.

i. With the score 16-7 early in the 4th quarter, the Broncos had Baltimore in a 3rd and 12 near midfield. On consecutive plays, Elvis Dumervil and Darrell Reid jumped offsides. On the resulting 3rd and 2, Flacco escaped pressure and made a downfield throw to Derrick Mason. This basically ended the game, because soon after, Mason scored to make the score 23-7.

j. Renaldo Hill looked out of position on the aforementioned Mason TD. Andre' Goodman had outside leverage on the play, with good coverage, really, but Hill never got over the top to help him. He may have seen something that kept him in the shallow middle; but it was a bust, clear as day, because Brian Dawkins played the coverage like he had a deep half on the other side. Credit Flacco for seeing the blown coverage and making a perfect throw.

k. From the Ravens' side, I liked their use of the no-huddle stuff, and their attempts to vary tempo. The Broncos substitute very liberally, and are one of the most package-intensive defenses in the NFL. By having to hesitate on substituting at times, they assumed a disadvantaged position against the Ravens. Really, I think that the lack of freshness of some players, who had larger than usual workloads, is a lot of what got them in the 4th quarter.

3. Information From My Eyes, Other Games:

a. As I mentioned, I didn't see a lot of other live games, since most ran at the same time as the Broncos game. To make up for that, I recorded some Short Cuts Sunday night, and hurried home from Day 1 of month-end close Monday to watch them. I started with the Jets and Dolphins, and my first (Nearsighted) Observation is that the Jets played a dominant game on defense, which surprised me a little. I thought they'd miss Kris Jenkins a lot more than they seemed to, especially with all the Wildcat stuff going on. The Jets held the Dolphins to 104 total yards, 52 each passing and rushing.

b. It's really something to score 30 points with 104 yards of offense. Jason Taylor got a fumble recovery for a TD and Ted Ginn returned two kickoffs. I have highlighted Ginn's lack of suddenness before - but let me tell you, when he gets going, he's as fast as anybody in the NFL. He outran players who had good angles on both TD returns. He may never be a top WR, but he's elite as a kickoff returner.

c. I think Thomas Jones is the most underrated player in the NFL. He started slow in the NFL, largely due to his being drafted by a horrible Arizona Cardinals team, but once he got it going in Tampa Bay, he's been a consistently productive player. He's on pace for 1,400 yards and 14 TDs this season, and is a big part of the Jets' success on offense.

d. The most overrated player has to be Jason Peters, just ahead of Alan Faneca and Flozell Adams. The bloom is mostly off the Faneca and Adams roses, at this point, but Peters still gets a lot of love from the MSM. I have just seen him get beat too many times the last two years, and the jury is in for me. He looks like he'd make a good Right Tackle, but on the left side, he gets beaten constantly by quick pass rushers. Osi Umenyiora owned him several times on Sunday.

e. DeSean Jackson is already a great player, and he's improving. He needs to be played physically, because if you let him run free through a defense, he's going to shred you. He's not really a true number-one receiver, who's going to defeat double coverage, but he's a dynamic outside guy.

f. The Eagles have a pretty fearsome passing game, when their line isn't getting Donovan McNabb sacked. Jeremy Maclin is having a solid rookie year, but I'm especially impressed with Brent Celek, who does a great job of catching the ball in traffic. He's now on pace for over 1,000 receiving yards this season. Celek isn't much of a blocker, really, but he even had a good hold that didn't get called on Sunday, helping spring Leonard Weaver's long TD run.

g. ST&NO favorite Alex Smith had a pretty nice game on Sunday against Indianapolis. He looks really comfortable in the shotgun, and led a great hurry-up TD drive at the end of the first half. For his part, Smith looked good for most of the game. The 49ers offense just repeatedly found ways to take bad penalties or give up sacks, (especially in the second half, after Joe Staley got hurt), which kept stopping the offense. Smith is showing a good rapport with Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree, who looks like the real deal, already, two weeks into his career.

h. Peyton Manning was a little off on Sunday with his deep ball. That happens so infrequently that I thought it was worth highlighting.

i. I still can't figure out why the Colts cut Ed Johnson a couple weeks ago. They're very vulnerable to the inside running game without him. The Colts brass said the release was performance-related, but I don't buy that for a second. Johnson was definitely their best DT.

j. Very interesting news Monday evening that the Chargers had released Chris Chambers. He has been struggling to get the separation he used to get, but waiving him seems like a pretty extreme measure. You can't tell me that he couldn't beat nickel or dime CBs against most teams. I'd be very surprised if he isn't on a new team very quickly.

k. The Raiders had a legitimate shot to drive to a tying TD and 2-point conversion in the final minutes of Sunday's game against the Chargers. Then, something completely emblematic of the Raiders happened. Louis Murphy and Darrius Heyward-Bey lined up on the offense's right side, and both ran vertical routes against man coverage. The inside receiver released outside of the DB covering him, and the outside receiver released inside. They bumped into each other, and both fell down. JaMarcus Russell had nowhere to throw the ball and got sacked, despite a 7-step drop and max protection on the play. The game was functionally over at that point.

l. Aaron Rodgers got beaten up mercilessly again on Sunday, particularly early in the game. I actually thought T.J. Lang was generally pretty solid at LT, but Jared Allen still got 3 sacks. He now has 7.5 sacks in 2 games against Green Bay this year, which is like giving him a handicap in the sack race with Elvis Dumervil.

m. I really thought that Arizona had gotten their act together, but they got hammered by Carolina on Sunday. They went into the game with the number-one run defense in the NFL, and then got run over by DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. I think it was an aberration, but that remains to be seen.

n. I've never liked Matt Ryan's arm much, and Monday night reinforced that feeling for me. Because the Falcons have a below-average line in pass protection, they max-protect a lot, leaving few receivers in the pattern. If the coverage is tight, as it was Monday, Ryan always seems to struggle to make throws to beat the coverage. He's really not too dissimilar to Kyle Orton in that way, though Orton throws the ball with more velocity. Ryan needs to have a lot of options, where he can pick a guy who is open. For that reason, Atlanta needs to focus on building their offensive line. Sam Baker, particularly, isn't good enough at LT, and would make a better LG. Baker got annihilated by Will Smith throughout Monday night's game.

o. My man Thomas DeCoud was at it again for the Falcons on Monday night. He had a sack that forced a TD in the first quarter. This guy is a big-time young player.

p. Jeff Triplette is the worst referee in the NFL, and it's not even close. He just couldn't figure out the clock on Monday night, and he has no command with the crowd. It always seems like he lets them rattle him. When you're a referee, a sheepish smile is a bad thing. You need to command the stadium, like Ed Hochuli and Mike Carey do. Gene Steratore is a good younger referee, too.

r. Marques Colston is having a fantastic year for the Saints. Prior to this year, I've always thought of him as a fairly-average starting WR who has benfitted from strong QB play, and a friendly system. I really see him winning a lot of one-on-one battles with his physicality now. He was targeted 6 times Monday night, and made 6 catches for 85 yards and a TD. He really battled for the ball on a few of those catches, including the TD.

4. Between The Lines, Denver Broncos at Baltimore Ravens

a. The Broncos had a very bad day in protection, and there's no way to sugarcoat that. The Ravens blitzed more often than what it seemed the Broncos were prepared for. Ryan Clady got beaten twice, which is twice more than usual, and got Orton hit. He was otherwise his normal self. The rag-doll was Ben Hamilton. I am getting tired of writing that every week, but if he's going to get his butt kicked, I'll keep writing it. Old friend Trevor Pryce destroyed Hamilton all game. Casey Wiegmann had his worst game of the year too, with Kelly Gregg beating him more often than not. I was pleased with Chris Kuper's play against Haloti Ngata, and I thought Tyler Polumbus did a very nice job filling in for Ryan Harris. The Broncos got Orton sacked twice (once by a DB) and pressured many more times than that. The passing game was a clear win for the Ravens defensive line.

b. The running aspect was actually better for the Broncos. They picked up a couple of 3rd and shorts, which was nice for a change, and generally held the line of scrimmage, and got a bit of surge against an excellent group for Baltimore. The only notable running play which was blown up was the 3rd-and-5 sweep. I liked the work of Clady and Kuper, and everybody was actually pretty solid in the running game. The Broncos only ran for 3.5 yards per carry - but against Baltimore, that's pretty solid. This was a draw, but one the Broncos would have been happy with if they'd protected better.

c. The Broncos did a good job pressuring Flacco throughout the game, and were beaten by some great throws and poise. These things happen. Jared Gaither held Elvis Dumervil repeatedly, but he didn't get penalized, so kudos to him, if he likes granola bars. Ben Grubbs and Michael Oher, the two best players on the Baltimore line, had good days, and the two weakest, Matt Birk and Chris Chester, didn't so much. A lot of the Broncos' pressure came from the Back 8, which is typical of them. The Ravens allowed a lot of pressure, but much like Ben Roethlisberger, Flacco showed a really good ability to evade the pressure, and make plays in spite of it.

d. The Broncos defense won big in the running game, until the last 10 minutes of the game, when it seemed like they wore down. The Broncos had 10 tackles for loss, which is the kind of performance that typically wins games. Unfortunately, Flacco's big plays negated a lot of this good work. When you consider it separately though, the Broncos won this battle for most of the game. Notable Broncos were Ronald Fields, Kenny Peterson, and Marcus Thomas. Ryan McBean got some penetration too, and Le Kevin Smith made a good play, also.

e. Overall, you have to give an edge to Baltimore, for how well they pressured Kyle Orton. It was the primary reason the Broncos never got untracked on offense. The Broncos did a more-than-respectable job in the other phases, though.

5. Word broke on Monday that the Browns had fired General Manager George Kokinis. I really can't imagine why they'd want to do that. Reportedly, Randy Lerner is displeased that Kokinis didn't take an active role in speaking to the media and communicating to the outside world. If that's really the problem, then I think it's clear that Lerner doesn't get professional football. During the season, the GM needs to be quiet and let the Head Coach be the voice of the team. This is the way it works everywhere, even a place like Baltimore, where GM Ozzie Newsome is the top football guy in the organization. That's where Kokinis came from.

Here in Cleveland, the Browns organization is really far too worried about public opinion. Remember how the Broncos organization ignored the DP message boards all offseason, and then the booing at the scrimmage? You have to do that, or you'll never get going in a coherent direction. I don't know if the Mangini plan is the right one, but it seems that Randy Lerner just canceled it before it even had half a season to work. Rumor has it that Lerner is trying to bring in Ernie Accorsi to join Bernie Kosar as a consultant. As respected as Accorsi is, this sounds like Lerner already blew the situation.

Phil Savage, who is still being paid for the next 3 1/2 years, had some interesting comments this past week. He said that the previous regime left this one with two quarterbacks, and that both of them look ruined at this point. The Browns will almost certainly be in the drafting-a-QB business again this coming spring, and that typically signals another full deep dive into rebuilding. While they're at it, they need a right side of the offensive line, two RBs, a WR, and a TE. Then they can turn their attention to the defense, which is currently solid enough to be part of a .500 team.

The team, led by Lerner, needs to definitively figure out what they want to be. They need to then formulate a plan to become that, and start executing the plan. Most importantly, though, they have to try to clearly articulate that plan to their stakeholders, and then prepare to stick to that plan, no matter what Joe in Berea, or Stanislaus in West Park have to say on the radio. You have to build your program, and winning will follow. As we all know, winning is the great deodorant.

More month-end closing activities are ahead for me this week. It seems like just last week I was closing September and complaining here about how busy I am. Now, it returns. The good news is that I will have a full Sunday of game-watching and channel-flipping next weekend, so expect a more-robust set of games which I'll be commenting on. Have a great week, friends, and remember to visit MileHighReport.com every day, for all your Broncos news and analysis.

MHR Chalk Talk - Denver Broncos at Baltimore Ravens 2009

Steve Nichols — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:30:31 -0000

How good are the Ravens? Don't be fooled by the 3-3 record. They've beat the teams they should have (KC and CLE), and won against a tough SD team. Their losses came to teams that are pretty good (NE, CIN, and MIN). Don't sell this team short.

On the other hand, many folks are more likely to sell Denver short. Vegas has them down by 3 points at the time of this writing, despite a 6-0 record. Denver beat two teams that beat BAL (NE and CIN), as well as CLE, SD, OAK, and DAL. How good is Denver?

Special Teams - Sep and Oct players of the month (Kicker Matt Prater and Returner Eddie Royal).

Offense - Kyle Orton, who played the first four games with a protective glove has thrown only one INT (a bomb throw to end a half with no time left) and holds a 100+ QB rating.

Defense - Keeping opponents to an average 11 points a game.

But how do the teams match up? Both teams come off of a bye week, and have had ample time to draw up superior game plans. Who wins in each aspect of the game, and how should they plan the game? Let's look at some possibilities....

Ravens Offense vs Broncos Defense

(Advantage in bold and italics)

Ravens Offense Broncos Defense

Points 28.2 (5th) 11 (1st)

Yards 393.2 (5th) 262.5 (2nd)

Pass 268.3 (8th) 182.8 (8th)

Run 124.8 (10th) 79.7 (3rd)

Two things come to mind when thinking of Denver's pass defense. First, the Denver secondary is legendary. Brian Dawkins at FS and Champ Bailey at CB is unbelievable. But Denver's pass rush is amazing, too. Elvis Dumervil (ROLB/RDE) is a pass-rushing machine and leads the NFL with 10 sacks. Elvis gets moved around the line to create confusion and mismatches, and his exceptionalism allows other players to make plays as well. How does the Baltimore Offense counter?

Well, that's a tricky question. In their last three games, Baltimore has given up seven sacks. Jared Gaither (LT) will play this week, but fans of both teams will hold their breath because Jared suffered a scary neck injury earlier on, and this makes things dicey.

Beyond that, Joe Flacco (QB) is playing very well with a 93.8 QB rating (and is coming off of a hurt ankle). His WRs may be a little suspect, though. Derrick Mason is a good WR, and needs to be accounted for. Todd Heap is also a fine TE. But according to Bruce (our good friend from Baltimore Beatdown) the receiving corps is having issues with passes over the middle, and is depending on sideline curls (too much). Frankly, I don't think this hurts Baltimore against Denver.

Against a great secondary, there are two things to avoid. One is the deep pass, and the other is an "out route". Both are the leading ways to get an interception, and a well-placed pass on a curl route is a safe (if boring) way to move the ball. In fact, Denver isn't averse to short hitches and curls to the edges on offense, and they move the ball just fine without interceptions in that mode. This is also a good, quick way to get rid of the ball against a good pass rush.

Baltimore's offense would be wise to stick with those curls. They have a decent running game behind backs Ray Rice with 6 yds per carry (who is also effective out of screens), and Willis McGahee (4.5 ypc). In fact, a lot of the Baltimore offense reminds me of Denver's.

Baltimore has a good running game, and they do well with short, high-percentage throws. They also make threats with screens.

This is an efficient team that doesn't bowl you over with yards, but they make their yards count and put up a lot of points. Denver is also learning the value of this kind of football. Having jettisoned a QB that put up excellent yards but a lot of INTs, Denver has moved in the direction of "game management", careful passing football and racked up wins as a result.

How does one attack such a team? Baltimore has an offensive issue that Denver's offense doesn't share - pass blocking. I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but Denver is winning the defense battles with an amazing pass rush, and they should do that here, too.

A good pass rush from the front 5 (Denver runs a 5-2 look) allows the two ILBs to account for the run, and plugs enough gaps (Denver runs a 1-gap attack) to prevent runs. But in the pass game, that same effective rush harries QBs and can break up plays in the backfield before they get started. If Baltimore can hold the Denver rush (a tall order) they can get the screens out, and make the quick, short passes to move the ball down field steadily. And while nobody is running the Broncos over in the running game (Denver holds teams to under 80 yards rushing), Baltimore needs to try to be the first. A good running game brushes back effective rushes and blitzes, and this would take away Denver's best defensive asset. Still, that's a tough order.

Broncos Offense vs Ravens Defense

Broncos Offense Ravens Defense

Points 22.2 (17th) 21.7 (19th)

Yards 368.7 (9th) 332.7 (19th)

Pass 236 (12th) 241.5 (23rd)

Run 132.7 (7th) 91.2 (7th)

Remember the days when the Ravens were killers on defense, but not so hot on offense? Things have changed quickly. Denver may not light up the scoreboard, but the Ravens aren't exactly shutting down offenses, either. How do offenses beat the Ravens? In the air.

The Ravens have a strong run defense. The DL features former Broncos favorite Trevor Pryce at LDE, but the real power is at LB with LILB Ray Lewis and ROLB Terrell Suggs. Behind them is one of my favorite free safeties in the game, Ed Reed. Ed is one of those "do it all" guys that can cover the pass and slam into a RB like a freight train. But Lewis, Suggs, and Reed are having a rough time this year, and the problem is at corner.

Samari Rolle is a very good corner, but is on the PUP list (injury). He may likely not return this season. This leaves Fabian Washington (who?) at #1 corner and former Bronco nickleback Domonique Foxworth at #2. Neither player has an INT this year.

The Baltimore pass rush faces a difficult prospect, too. Denver's tackles (Ryan Clady and Ryan Harris) are both young, Pro Bowl-caliber players. Pressure will need to come up the middle, if at all. As Orton is a pocket passer, this is where rushes need to come from, anyway.

So the Ravens' best card is their run defense, which ties Denver's run offense. Not a dominating way to face the Broncos.

Denver's path to winning is classic. First, see who has the edge in the running game. If Denver establishes the run, the game is over. I don't see the Ravens stopping the pass in any event. If Denver can run, they can mix up the run and pass, and go from there. The best option may not be the runs up the gut (Denver is awful on short-yardage, 3rd-down scenarios). Denver should test the edges.

Whether the run works or not, expect Denver to play 3 WR (or more) sets. This forces Baltimore to take LBs off the field (their strength) and to replace them with corners (their weakness). Denver has excellence at WR in depth:

Brandon Marshall, who zigzags and plows overs defenders with ease,
Eddie Royal, who ran a kick return and punt return for TDs against the Chargers in the last game,
Jabar Gaffney, who runs routes perfectly in the Denver system (the same routes he ran in NE),
Brandon Stokley, who switches up at slot with Jabar, and has experience, toughness, and great hands.

Between Orton's intelligent ball-handling, Denver's receivers, and the weakness at Baltimore's CBs, this is the matchup Denver fans should look forward to the most - the Denver passing game. If I'm running Baltimore's defense, I put the CBs in zone and play bend-don't-break.

Keys to the Game

Denver

Stop the run. I don't think Baltimore can win as a one-dimensional offense.
Get the early lead. Denver has been starting slow, but an early lead takes away the Baltimore running game.
Avoid turnovers. Baltimore can win this game if they win on field position. They can do this with a key fumble recovery or two. They shouldn't get many chances for INTs against Orton.

Baltimore

Win the time of possession battle. Keep the ball away from Denver's offense.
Win the special teams battle. Don't let Royal get going on punts or kicks. Denver has a new punter this week - make the most of it. Field position!
Baltimore has been able to put up a lot of points this year. Denver is NOT a shootout team.

Conclusion

Both teams are coming off of a bye. The game is in Baltimore, and Baltimore doesn't want to be 3-4 after this week. The weather (at the time of this writing) is expected to be rain. This favors defense and running. For this matchup, this would favor Baltimore.

On the other hand, Denver beats Baltimore in 6 of 8 comparisons I've listed above, and ties in two (based in relative League rankings). In terms of player matchups, I give Denver the advantage in depth. In fact, I give Denver the edge or tie at every player position comparison, including STs (Den) and Coaching (Den).

In my mind, Baltimore is very underrated. While their AFC North rivals PITT and CIN look good this year, BAL is a team that could turn on a dime and improve quickly. The only area that I believe they are stuck without improvement in is cornerbacks.

I don't expect to pick Denver every game this year. The only game I didn't pick Denver was against NE, and I called that one "too close to call". Sure enough, that game went into overtime, so I'll call that a "correct". Tough games still loom on the horizon (Indy and NYGs), but for now, Denver has proven they are for real and I'll stick with them.

Poll

Other than being 6-0, what has been the biggest surprise so far?

Royal returns a kick and a punt for TDs in same game.

186 votes

Doom leads the League in sacks near season half mark.

269 votes

Orton has only 1 INT this year (and that was on a hail mary).

730 votes

1185 votes | Poll has closed

Horse Tracks 9/22/09 - The Denver Broncos have allowed the fewest points in the NFL. Chew on that...

Douglas A. Lee — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:43:47 -0000

DB - Sharpe Inducted Into Ring of Fame - Broncos TV

DB - Week 3 - Mon: McDaniels - Broncos TV

DB - Flipping the Switch - Gray Caldwell
The decision to move to a 3-4 defense was an easy one for Josh McDaniels and Co.

DB - Putting the "D" Back in Denver - Mike Rice

CBS4 - Elway Says Brandon Marshall Should Be Careful - Jesse Sarles

CSG - Altered state of consciousness directs Dawkins on field - Frank Schwab

IDT - Key’s in the ignition for Broncos bandwagon - Hunter Ansley

DB - The Morning After: Week 2 - Chris Gentilviso

DPP - Krieger: OK, don't magnify 2-0 start

DPP - Break it down: 3-4 benefits Dumervil - Jeff Legwold

DPP - Muscle, not finesse, makes Broncos go - Jeff Legwold

DPP - Broncos Marshall's playing status: MIA - Lindsay Jones
BMarsh has seen a lot less throws come his way so far this year. But the same can be said for Eddie Royal...

DP - Mailbag: Mild maybe, but Orton just wins - Mike Klis
Klis says Shanny is considering a 3-4 D for his next gig. Plus a case for Rick Upchurch in the Ring of Fame.

AP - Broncos Quickly Adapting To 3-4 Scheme - Pat Graham

LTC - Hashed Browns - Brian Howell

LTC - Broncos’ bold D a welcome surprise - Brian Howell

DPP - Analysis: Chemistry missing between Marshall, Orton - Jeff Legwold

AC - Buckhalter ignites Broncos' ground game

DP - It’s careful time for Broncos - Jeff Legwold

DPP - McDaniels' decision paying off for Broncos - Lindsay Jones

DB - Ask Eddie Royal..

DB - Doom & Buck Show week 2 - Mark Cooper

DP - Classy gesture by Trevor Pryce - Mike Klis

SN - NFL Power Poll: Real tests await Broncos - Clifton Brown

MJ - BROWNS NOTES: Elam's bottled water cost him $1,700 - Bob Finnan

DP - Moss: Carter: an original 3-4 defensive specialist
Irv Moss on Broncos legend Rubin Carter.

NFL Results

NFL - Indianapolis Colts 27 at Miami Dolphins 23
Dallas Clark caught 7 passes for 183 yards, including an 80-yard TD to open the game.

AFC West News

SFG - Raiders Silver and Black Blog : The morning after - David White

SFC - Gallery loss hurts struggling Raiders offense - Tom Fitzgerald

OT - Raiders notebook: Cable mulls options without injured Gallery - Jerry McDonald

SDUT - Chargers aren't that good (yet), Turner says - Kevin Acee

SDUT - Turner based calls on rationale, preparation - Norv Turner

SDUT - Turner based calls on rationale, preparation - Tim Sullivan

SDUT - Bolts still plan on signing DT - Kevin Acee

KCS - Chiefs put strange mix of receivers on field at end of Raiders game - Adam Teicher

NFL News

NFL - Seahawks QB Hasselbeck has fractured rib; status uncertain

NFL - Cowboys' RB Barber has quad injury; severity unknown

NFL - Jets' Ryan confirms 49ers file tampering charges over Crabtree

NFL - Falcons first rounder Jerry done for year due to knee injury

NFL - Kolb will make second consecutive start if McNabb can't return

NFL - Rams OT Smith's sprained knee will not require surgery

NFL - Bucs’ Phillips has broken thumb

NFL - Bills starting OT Butler done for season

PFW - Week Three matchup tidbits
Hmm. This seems to be a great resource, except they've omitted the Broncos game...

NFL Opinion

NFL - Excited about 2-0 start? Don't start ordering playoff tickets just yet - Mike Lombardi

Y! - Instinctive Lewis short circuits Chargers' rally - Mike Silver

FOX - Second Guesses: Chargers misread in red zone - John Czarnecki

CBS - Prisco Grades: Week 2

SI - Patriots facing test against Falcons; JaMarcus Russell struggling - Jerome Bettis
Bettis says cutting Jeff Garcia sent the wrong message to JaMarcus the Hutt, who is being pushed by nobody.

PFW - Week Three power rankings
Denver jumps up to #18

Y! - NFL has no business being in Jacksonville - Dan Wetzel

NFP - More on Crabtree and 49ers - Andrew Brandt

NFP - Tavern talk: a toast to Ryan and the Jets - Mike Lombardi

Denver Broncos 50th Anniversary Team Released

John Bena — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 23:25:36 -0000

via www.sportslogos.net

View full size photo »

The 2009 NFL season marks the 50th anniversary of the Denver Broncos. To commemorate the past while embracing the future, the franchise has allowed its community of fans, an integral part of Broncos Country during the first 50 seasons, the chance to vote for their 50th Anniversary Denver Broncos Team.

From June 6 - Sept. 4, fans had the chance to make their voices heard by casting their votes online at www.DenverBroncos.com. The results are in, and here are the choices:

First-team Offense

QB John Elway

RB Terrell Davis

RB Floyd Little

WR Ed McCaffrey

WR Rod Smith

TE Shannon Sharpe

OT Matt Lepsis

OT Gary Zimmerman

G Keith Bishop

G Mark Schlereth

C Tom Nalen

First-team Defense

DE Simon Fletcher

DE Rich Jackson

DT Trevor Pryce

DT Rubin Carter

LB Karl Mecklenburg

LB Randy Gradishar

LB Tom Jackson

CB Champ Bailey

CB Louis Wright

S Steve Atwater

S Dennis Smith

First-team Specialists

K Jason Elam

P Tom Rouen

Ret Rick Upchurch

The first team will be honored in person during halftime of the team's Legacy Game on Oct. 11 when the New England Patriots visit INVESCO Field at Mile High. In addition, one lucky voter will have the opportunity to join the 50th Anniversary Team during this ceremony. That winner will be announced at a later date.

The voting process was made possible by the Broncos' online marketing partner, Akavit - the principle digital agency behind DenverBroncos.com and BroncosCountry.com. The interactive voting tool featured the Broncos' history and highlights spanning the past 50 seasons through the use of video and additional multimedia. Each player was represented by their respective biography, statistics and photographs.

Along with the first team, the Broncos are also announcing a 50th Anniversary second team.

The second team-offense has Craig Morton lining up at quarterback, with Otis Armstrong and Sammy Winder at running back, Haven Moses and Lionel Taylor at wide receiver, and Riley Odoms at tight end. Rounding out the unit is the offensive line of Ken Lanier and Dave Studdard at offensive tackle, Ben Hamilton and Paul Howard at guard and Billy Bryan at center.

The second-team defense has a line of Rulon Jones and Alfred Williams at defensive end, and Greg Kragen and Paul Smith at defensive tackle. Al Wilson, Bill Romanowski and D.J. Williams are at linebacker. Ray Crockett and Willie Brown are the second-team cornerbacks, while Steve Foley and Goose Gonsoulin round out the defense at safety.

The second-team specialists are Jim Turner at kicker, Mike Horan at punter, and Billy Thompson at returner.

Horse Tracks 9/12/09 - Shannon Sharpe gets involved in guiding Brandon Marshall

Douglas A. Lee — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 13:43:36 -0000

Mornin' MHR Friends! To all my fellow New Yorkers, please shoot me an email at nycbroncosfan@gmail.com if you're interested in meeting up for tomorrow's (and future) games. I know this is last minute, but I had been hoping to get NFL Sunday Ticket Online and it hasn't worked out. I watched most Broncos games last year at Sidebar on 15th and Irving; not sure if that will be the spot again this year. But please email me and hopefully we can put something together!

AP - Brandon Marshall Keeps Lips Sealed On Suspension
Shannon Sharpe got on a three-way call with Rod Smith and BMarsh and gave the young receiver a stern talking to. Big Play Shay says, "Moving forward, I don't think the Broncos are going to have any problems with Brandon Marshall." Personally, I'm thrilled these legends still care enough about the Broncos to help out, even in the absence of Mike Shanahan.

DP - Orton to start Broncos' opener - Mike Klis

DPP - Same as it ever was for Orton - Mike Klis
According to Klis, Kyle Orton hasn't seemed to have lost any velocity or sharpness from his throws during practice this week.

DPP - All quiet on B-Marsh front - Jeff Legwold
Josh Barrett and Le Kevin Smith are out for Sunday's game, while Russ Hochstein is expected to start in place of Chris Kuper.

DB - A Few Minutes With Josh McDaniels - Broncos TV

DB - Week 1: McDaniels - Broncos TV

DB - Exciting In Its Own Right - Chris Gentilviso

DB - Embodying the Exception - Zach Eisendrath
Jarvis Moss sounds refreshed and renewed by the switch in defensive scheme. Hopefully it shows through on the field...

DPP - Q&A: Rate the rookies - Jeff Legwold

DPP - Analysis: Adjustments will be made - Jeff Legwold

LTC - Defense key to Broncos’ success - Brian Howell

LTC - Moreno eager to debut - Brian Howell

CSG - Indications are Orton will start for Broncos - Frank Schwab

CSG - For McDaniels, this is not any given Sunday - Frank Schwab

DPP - Broncos' 50th season: Long way to reach glory - Jim Armstrong
Armstrong looks back at the Broncos' early days and offers his all-time team.

DP - Bates doesn't dwell on past - John Henderson

MV - The Denver Broncos' Ed McCaffrey, 9/11 and a New York Minute

Bengals News

CE - Henry set to play against Denver - Joe Reedy

CE - No blackout for Bengals - Joe Reedy

NYT - Brothers on the Bengals - The Palmers are the ‘Other’ Quarterbacks - Karen Crouse

AFC West News

ESPN - Adam Schefter: Richard Seymour expected to arrive in Oakland on Saturday, sources say
Sure, feel bad for Seymour. But Belichick being disloyal? Come on. The guy knows what he's doing. If a player is about to go over the hill (or cost too much to retain), then by all means trade him for a valuable draft pick. That's exactly what Shanny DIDN'T do with Reggie Hayward, Bert Berry and Trevor Pryce. You can't afford to keep everyone, so trade them when you can get value; don't just let them walk during free agency. I HOPE McD is willing/able to make similar choices in future. Foresight is a much better quality than sentimentality when it comes to winning.

SDUT - DA won't file charges against Merriman

NFL - Chiefs’ Cassel feels good, but will be a game-time call

KCS - Chiefs notebook | Rookie Jackson says he’s made progress - Kent Babb

KCS - Offensive line will be put to the test against Ravens - Adam Teicher

NFL News

NFL - Federal appeals court rules NFL can’t immediately suspend Williamses

NFL - Saints' Brown to miss several weeks after second surgery

NFL - Colts safety Sanders out vs. Jags; assistant Moore to return to sidelines

NFL - Cardinals WR Boldin questionable vs. 49ers

NFL - Texans’ Schaub probable, Walter questionable vs. Jets

Y! - Sources: Tomlin, Steelers working on extension - Jason Cole

NFL Opinion

NYT - Week 1 Matchups - Mike Tanier

SI - Percy Harvin, Titans-Steelers, Carson Palmer, more NFL Week 1 - Peter King

ESPN - Final Word

SI - NFL Week 1 viewer's guide, plus NFL mailbag - Ross Tucker

CBS - Peek at the Week: Cutler-Rodgers kicks off NFC North race - Clark Judge

ESPN - 10 Spot: '09 surprise? Watch Redskins - Adam Schefter

SI - NFL ranks last in SI.com ranking of best/worst overtimes in sports - John P. Lopez

FOX - Week 1 preview: Edwards in for a wake-up call - Kevin Hench
Hench says the Broncos defense will be "awful" and thinks all they did was sign Brian Dawkins. Click here for some thorough journalism! I mean, if you think the Broncos D will be poor due to a scheme change and roster turnover, that's fine; you're entitled. But don't say they'll be "awful" because they didn't do enough...

NFP - Now it’s ‘we’ time in the NFL - Andrew Brandt
Brandt thinks the Broncos should avoid negotiating with BMarsh.

SI - Chicago Bears-Green Bay Packers is NFL game of the week - Adam Duerson

NFL - Aging star RBs ready to turn back time as season kicks off - Pat Kirwan

NFL - In stacked NFC East, Redskins are division's true wildcard - Steve Wyche

NFL - As season opens, Favre making waves on and off the field - Jason La Canfora

PFW - Rice will be busy man for Ravens - Mike Wilkening

NFP - Minus Polamalu, Steelers defense still strong - Matt Bowen

Ravens 53 Man Roster: My Picks

Bruce Raffel — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 11:00:24 -0000

Here are my picks for what the Ravens will end up doing later today when they announce the 53 man roster that they will be trimming down to when they release 22 guys to get down to the NFL max.

Offense

QB: Joe Flacco, Troy Smith, John Beck

WR: Derrick Mason, Mark Clayton, Demetrius Williams, Kelley Washington, Justin Harper

RB: Ray Rice, Willis McGahee, LeRon McClain, Jalen Parmele

TE: Todd Heap, L.J. Smith, Davon Drew, Edgar Jones

OL: Matt Birk, Ben Grubbs, Jared Gaither, Chris Chester, Marshal Yanda, Michael Oher, David Hale, Oniel Cousins

Defense

DB: Ed Reed, Dawan Landry, Fabian Washington, Domonique Foxworth, Haruki Nakamura, Tom Zbikowski, Chris Carr, Lardarius Webb, Frank Walker, Derrick Martin

LB: Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, Jarret Johnson, Tavares Gooden, Jameel McClain, Brendon Ayanbadejo, Paul Kruger, Prescott Burgess, Antwan Barnes

DL: Haloti Ngata, Trevor Pryce, Justin Bannan, Kelly Gregg, Dwan Edwards, Brandon McKinney

Specialists

P: Sam Koch

PK: Steven Hauschka

LS: Matt Katula

That’s only 52 guys and my final spot is a tough one to decide upon. I am looking at one of the following guys:

Yamon Figurs, Jason Cook, Jason Phillips, Joe Reitz, Kelly Talavou

Figurs still has the speed and with Webb looking a bit shaky on returns, Yamon gives us another option behind Chris Carr. Jason Cook gives us another fullback along with LeRon McClain. Jason Phillips was a 4^th round draft pick in 2009 and Ozzie doesn’t like to release draft picks. Perhaps Phillips will be IR’d to keep our hands on him (I expect the Ravens to IR undrafted rookie LB Dannell Ellerbe as well). Joe Reitz gives us more depth on the offensive line as well as Kelly Tavalou does the same for the defensive line.

I don’t want to take the easy way out by only selecting 52 players, so I will have to go out on a limb and make my selection and therefore the 53^rd spot on the Baltimore Ravens roster goes to Yamon Figurs.

The other players I was undecided about go onto our Practice Squad, where we can have up to eight players. Of course, I would expect the team to peruse other teams’ cuts to add a player or two to either our roster or Practice Squad, and vice versa for the rest of the league. However, in advance of that info, my Practice Squad would look like this:

Cook, Reitz, Talavou, Foster, Riley, Peerman, Smolko, Stallings

Additionally, as I stated earlier, the team would place both Dannell Ellerbe and Jason Phillips on Injured Reserve (IR), which would end their 2009 seasons, but ensure the team retains their rights while giving the players their full 2009 salaries, which do count against the team’s salary cap. However, being rookies, that should not be much of an issue.

Your thoughts and comments on those last few slots?

Meet Clarence Brooks: Ravens Defensive Line Coach

Bruce Raffel — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:00:18 -0000

Clarence Brooks, or as the players affectionately call him, "CB," the heart and soul behind the team's perrenial success on the defensive line. Brooks has been with the team since 2005 and was retained by Head Coach John Harbaugh, after being hired by former Head Coach Brian Billick. That is a true tribute to Brooks' success and especially the unique relationship he has with his players.

Every morning I walked into practice during Training Camp in Westminster, I'd see him with his linemen in the end zone stretching out and warming up prior to practice officially beginning for the day. He always seems to be laughing, teasing or getting teased by his players and it was heartwarming to see such huge men acting almost like his own children when they were relaxed and just hanging out. Therefore, I decided to see if I could get an opportunity to sit down with Coach Brooks to find out more about what makes him so endearing to those players that he is charged with preparing for the season. In addition, I got a chance to ask some of the linemen plus Coach Harbaugh about what it's like working for the man and how much of their success is a reflection back onto him.

After this past Saturday's morning session, we met back at the team hotel to sit in the lobby for a few minutes so I could ask him some questions. Earlier in the week, I asked DT Haloti Ngata how what he thought about his line coach:

Beatdown: Haloti, I’m doing a sit down with Coach Brooks tomorrow and I just wanted to know what it’s like playing for the guy?

Ngata: It’s awesome, he’s such a great coach. It’s great, I didn’t know what to expect coming into the league, what kind of coach Clarence was. Now that I’m here, been here a while, I’m just thankful he’s the coach. He just such a great technician coach, taught me a lot, made me a lot better. I’m just happy he’s our coach.

BB: With all the skills he’s able to teach, it seems that he’s almost different from the other coaches in that he has such a laid back good sense of humor, always busting your chops. That doesn’t necessarily translate to the field because you seem to really take it seriously.

Ngata: Oh definitely. He knows when to turn it on and off. He’s such a great coach that he doesn’t need to get on us to make plays. We’re gonna make plays for him, not only for us but for him too. It’s just amazing how he can coach us and still get on us when he needs to.

I also asked DE Trevor Pryce the same question and he gave Brooks what I think is the ultimate compliment in his answer:

BB: Trevor, Bruce Raffel, Baltimore Beatdown. I’m doing a story on Clarence Brooks and I just wanted…

Pryce: Ha, C-Bizzle!?

BB: …want to know what’s it like playing for the guy?

Pryce: Man, I would have retired if it wasn’t for having a coach like CB. That’s the best comment, the best thing I could say about him. He’s a great coach, there’s a lot of great coaches, but he’s a better person.

Kelly Gregg thinks the same way:

BB: Kelly, just a quick question. I’m doing an article on Clarence Brooks today and I just wanted to know what’s it like playing for the guy?

Gregg: Aw, it’s great, man. He’s been around a long time, knows the game. It’s great working with him every day. You know, he’s always on you, he’s good for us.

However, even with all the accolades about what a great coach he is, they all seem to go back to the man as a person more than the coach:

BB: It seems like he has that down-to-earth special relationship…

Pryce: We love him to death, I mean honestly we love him to death. And it’s like we always had this thing where the guys are always messing around, players messing with the coaches, and we can go grab the quarterbacks coach, but nobody comes to his rescue. You grab our coach and Bannan and them boys sweep down on you like the wrath of God. I’m telling you, don’t mess with CB. He takes care of us and we take care of him.

BB: But he seems like a real laid back, fun guy too.

Gregg: Oh yeah, we have our good times but we get out there and work too. He’s great, got a great personality but when it’s time to work he turns it on.

I asked Coach Brooks about that:

BB: You seem to have a really unique relationship with your players. On one hand you can get in their face and get real serious and on the other hand you’re laughing like one of the kids. The best quote I got was from Trevor. Trevor ‘s comment when I asked him about you was "I would have retired if it weren’t for CB." So talk about what I see the difference between when I see you sitting with your players versus the other coaches. It seems like there’s not just a football relationship there.

Brooks: First of all I think all the guys on this staff do a great job in their areas with their people. Every team I’ve been on, defensive linemen are always a little bit different kind of a group. This group here is very close, they really are a close knit group. They really care for and about each other. I like being around them. Now the thing I like about them is that sometimes, when I have to get after them, I get after them and they know when I’m serious and they know when I’m not. They respect me and I respect them. That’s another thing we have, we don’t try to embarrass our players, when we put them out there we challenge them all the time.

Clarence Brooks has been in the league for a long time, but when he played the game, he was on the offensive side of the ball. I asked him about the switch for the coaching side of his career, as well as how he uses his college education to help him as a coach:

BB: So this is your 17^th season. You came to the Ravens, I think, in 2005. How does it feel that you came here under one coach and you were retained by John Harbaugh?

Brooks: Well, I’ll tell you what. At the time I came here, we just got let go at Miami, and I got a chance to come here under Brian Billick and that was great. I was here for three seasons under him and had a chance to stay when John came he wanted to retain me. I thought that was fantastic because I love this organization. It’s a heck of an organization, great people here, good players and I just really wanted to be able to stay here and go on with these guys because it’s something I was enjoying at the time and still am.

BB: According to your bio, you’ve been coaching since 1975 and you’ve been coaching defense all that time. But yet, apparently you played offensive line in college, so why defense?

Brooks: Yeah, (laughs). You know what, I don’t know. I was an offensive lineman in high school, was a lineman in college and when I first started out coaching I was working on the offensive side of the ball, working as an assistant offensive line coach at the University of Massachusetts. Then a position came open on the defense and it sounded good to me and I got on defense and been there ever since.

BB: College degree in Sociology, right? How does it help, do you get into the players’ minds?

Brooks: (laughs) I try, I’ll tell you what, I try not to. In this job, you have to be a coach, a teacher, a little bit of a psychologist, ..,

BB: …a parent?

Brooks: Yeah, a little bit of a parent sometimes, you know there are different times, different stages with different guys, so things come up that they might need, but I tell you it’s all enjoyable. I love what I’m doing and couldn’t see myself doing anything else.

Coach Brooks has been blessed with great players to work with. However, he still has to know how to differentiate between what he does for the vetrans as opposed to the younger guys:

BB: With people like Kelly and Trevor being such experienced veterans, what is you r role in working with them as opposed to some of the younger guys?

Brooks: The thing with our veteran players here, they really take ownership of what the young guys are doing. I might say something to one of the young guys as a correction and the older guys might see there’s still a little bit of confusion in the young guys’ eyes and they’ll sort of interpret it for me. If it wasn’t for the older guys, guys like Kelly and Trevor, who’ve been around for ten, twelve, fourteen years, the other guys wouldn’t follow suit. Everybody who comes into this program, comes into this position group, they kind of, "oh, okay this is the way it’s done here."

BB: So they get it from a players’ perspective?

Brooks: Yeah, they understand there’s an order to things and they understand how hard we work and they understand that when they’re on the field and we challenge them all the time, it’s to make them and us better and it’s never ever personal and it’s all about playing the game and winning the game.

This season, it appears that the depth on the defensive line is better than it has been in years. Trevor seems to think so and even Head Coach John Harbaugh agrees, giving a lot of credit to their line coach:

BB: Coach, Trevor Pryce said this is the deepest group of defensive linemen you’ve had in years. What do you think about that and how does that reflect on Coach Brooks?

Harbaugh: I think it’s the deepest group we’ve had since I’ve been here. Now, I know that’s not very long, but for Trevor [Pryce] to say that is really high praise. And it says a lot about Clarence Brooks. He develops defensive lineman. We have guys on our roster right now that other teams gave up on and have come in here with Clarence. We’ve seen it. They’re good players, and they’re going to be really good players. So, that’s a tribute to the coach.

Here's Coach Brooks' take on this subject:

BB: Trevor said today that this is the deepest group of guys on the defensive line since he’s been here and when I mentioned that to Coach Harbaugh he said that he’s only been here one year but it’s definitely deeper than it was last year.

Brooks: Yeah, it is and we need to thank God for that because we manage to stay healthy and as long as that continues, we’ve got a very nice mix of guys who’ve been around, battling for positions and we’ve got some guys who can play and have played in the NFL and have played a lot of years, so we feel pretty good about that.

As an example of the sense of humor shared between the players and their line coach, there was a little incident last week when Haloti Ngata lined up as the fullback on goal line offense, took the handoff and scored. Here's what happened next along with both Ngata's and Brooks' take on it:

BB: I saw you take a handoff on the goal line offense and after you scored you went over to him and gave him a playful tap and sat him on his butt. What happened there?

Ngata: I think I caught him when he was on that one leg and it was just perfect timing. He clicked his ankles and fell over, but I didn’t mean to do that. He definitely got on me the next day about hitting him down.

BB: Haloti, earlier this week, took a handoff at the goal line and came through and scored. He was so excited he came over to you, tapped you and knocked you off balance. I asked him about that and he said he caught you off balance, you clicked your heels and fell. He said you got on him about it.

Brooks: (laughing) Yeah he got me. I was kind of halfway paying attention to him. I was looking at something else, he got me and over I went. We have fun like that as a group, we have fun like that together and I just love being around these guys and how they play. You never have to worry about them going out on the field and not playing hard. I mean these guys work tremendously hard for us and I feel good about that.

I also asked Haloti for any "secrets" I should know about Coach Brooks and here's what obth of them had to say:

BB: Any little secret I should know about him, when I sit down, that I could bust his chops about?

Ngata: Uhhh…he cusses too much.

BB: I asked Haloti to tell me something that nobody else knows about CB. So he thought for a while and says, "he curses way too much."

Brooks: (laughs loudly) Yeah, I do, and my wife’s over there and she’ll tell you the same thing. But you know what? I try to clean it up around here but there can be times that my language gets a bit colorful. I’ve been working on it for a long time, haven’t mastered it yet but I’m trying.

Before we finished, I asked him about his son, who is part of the Ravens coaching staff, his future plans and what it will be like coaching against his former Defensive Coordinator in tonight's exhibition game:

BB: It’s also nice that you have your son working on the staff. I know he doesn’t work with you, but how does it feel knowing that day in and day out, he’s right there?

Brooks: It’s outstanding. I mean that I never would have dreamt that this would happen. When the situation came up and he got into the process and John hired him, I’m ever grateful to John for that. So he’s just getting his first step into this business and it’s been an eye opener for him, this is hard work and a lot of time, but I feel blown away that he’s here with us and it’s great to have him. He just got married a couple of months ago, he’s starting off as a newlywed in this business, but it’s just fantastic.

BB: What’s next for Clarence Brooks? Any future aspirations, do you see yourself DC-ing or head coaching?

Brooks: You know, this job is everything rolled up into one. It’s very demanding, it’s very challenging but it’s also extremely rewarding. I don’t think I’m as good a defensive line coach as I wanna be or gonna be. So there’s a lot more for me to do. Anything else that comes down the line, it comes, but I’ll tell you what, I love what I’m doing, I love the people I’m doing it with. At this point in time I’m just jacked up to still be out here and working with these young guys. It really lifts me a lot and who knows what happens down the road. Whatever happens down the road happens I don’t look at the crystal ball, I never have. I just keep my head down, grind, work and good things will happen.

BB: Monday night, looking across the field, you’re going to see a familiar face on the opposite sideline. What’s it gonna feel like?

Brooks: First of all, we’re extremely happy for Rex. He’s a guy that warranted getting one of these jobs. He got one, he was prepared for it. He’s a friend and was great to work with for four years I was here. It’s gonna be a little weird seeing him at first, but as the game starts now we’re going to wish him luck at the beginning and we’re gonna wish him luck at the end, and try to kick his butt in the middle.

BB: That’s it, I really appreciate it. Thanks.

Brooks: Okay, thank you.

Ravens Training Camp: Saturday AM Edition

Bruce Raffel — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 17:12:11 -0000

It was a clear and sunny morning, with sunshine and high temperatures expectred after a rain soaked Friday afternoon. It was nice to see Trevor Pryce dressed after seeing him carted off yesterday with a stepped-on foot. OG Marshall Yanda was removed from the PUP List (Physically Unable to Perform) which was good to see this early in camp. Once again, Jared Gaither is still a beast, although his belly is not nearly as big as last year.

Kickoff return drills are happening, with the "pitching" machine doing the "kickoffs." Taking turns returning them are Ray Rice, Lardarius Webb, Chris Carr, and even Willis McGahee, as former return man and still on the sidelines is Yamon Figurs.

The QB's are now throwing long passes to the WR's, drawing cheers with each completion. Even in football it is safe to still say, "chicks dig the long ball!"

The placekickers seem really bored. They spend a lot of time just standing around, talking, moving from one area to another. Every now and then they place the ball in the "tripod" holder and boot one in drill after drill to strengthen the leg, ensure proper technique and gauge accuracy. Zzzzzz....

In live tackling 11-on-11 drills, Ray Rice broke a 30 yard run, finally knocked out of bounds coming right at me on the sidelines. See the video I took of this play: Ray Rice Runs Right At Me!

Offensive Coordinator Cam Cameron is barking instructions to the players, as the 1st string offensive line is pushing the 2nd team defense back 3-4 yards every play. Troy Smith directed the 2nd team offense up against the 1st team defense and threw a long 40 yard completion to WR Marcus Smith. But wait, the referee called Marcus for offensive pass interference, which drew complaints from the offensive sidelines prompting Ray to yell at them, "quit crying!"

When the 3rd team offense got on the field, I noticed an insignificant run of 4 yards by RB Cedric Perrman but what made it significant was that he carried 3 or 4 defensive players most of the way on his back.

Field goal drills had Steve Hauschka hitting from 32, 40 and 45 yards, with Suggs under the goalposts signalling good each time, although he did miss the 48 yarder. Gano came on to hit his 32 yarder, but missed the 39 yard attempt. He then consecutively hit from 44 and 48 yards. In other full contact drills, Flacco threw to no one in particular and Dawan Landry had his second pick of camp. Troy Smith then contributed to the defense by having his pass picked off by Haruki Nakamura and returned down the sideline until Troy raced over and knocked him hard out of bounds, prompting both Antwan Barnes and Terrell Suggs to get in Smith's face for the unnecessary contact in the first altercation of camp.

Flacco then hit consecutive passes to Todd Heap and Marcus Smith for 20 yards each. In the Red Zone, Flacco had Mark Clayton breaking open across the goal line but a leaping Dawan Landry snagged his second interception of the morning and third of camp. Finally, Flacco hit Smith across the middle for a 20 yard TD reception.

Final drill before the morning ended was kickoff returns and everyone seemed to take part in the coverage side of the ball, including Suggs and Flacco on one side. On the final return, Lardarius Webb broke into the clear amid yells from the coaches to "finish it," but kicker Graham Gano caught him from behind at the goal line.

After practice ended, Justin Harper once again fist-bumped me on his way by, Michael Oher shook my hand, and I also got short interviews with Haruki Nakamra and Dawan Landry before they left the field. Check out their interviews when I put them up as a separate FanPost.

Ravens Training Camp: Friday AM Edition

Bruce Raffel — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:54:51 -0000

Continuing the previous news, notes and photos from the Baltimore Ravens first full team practice of the 2009 season, I was amazed at the size of the crowd this morning and heard it was one of, if not the largest in Training Camp history.

The offense and defense were on the field for drills for the first time. Lots of contact and trash talking, especially from the defense. Dawan Landry and Haruki Nakamura working together as first team safeties. Meanwhile, while Troy Smith and John Beck take turns running the offense, Joe Flacco was at the other end of the field wowing fans with long passes to the WR's. Center Matt Birk confidently calling out blocking assignments. Willis McGahee just put his shoulder down into 350 pound DT Kelly Talavou and ran him over, which was great to see.

Ray is kneeling on the sidelines, just yelled to head coach John Harbaugh on the field, "Hey Coach, I ain't heard your voice all day," as I stand only five feet behind him!

More after the "Jump"

Flacco hits Ray Rice in the flat, who runs down the sidelines in front of the fans, and is met by Ed Reed, who is wearing the red (no contact) jersey. Clayton beats Fabian Washington to a pass for a great grab and then breaks away for a nice gain. Rookie DE Will Johnson was getting his hamstring wrapped in ice and DE Trevor Pryce was seen with his shoe off flexing his toe while grimacing. Later he was carted off the field but was seen walking fine in the lobby of the hotel later with a small bandage wrapped around his foot, which reportedly got stepped on.

The crowd is INSANE! There are so many people here, with the crowd estimated by the team at 11,000 fans, who are packed along the sides 20 people deep in places. They are cheering and yelling for acknowledgement. "welcome to Baltimore, Foxworth" got a fist pump from Domonique. "Hey Ray" and "Hey Suggs" got smiles and waves from the players.

The placekickers came out kicking. Both Steve Hauschka and Graham Gano were good from the 38 yard line. While Gano hit from 40, Hauschka missed his but came back to nail it on the second attempt, plus one from 45 yards. Gano hit consecutive FG's from extra point distrance along with 25, 35 and 45 yards.

Flacco hits 6'5" WR Ernie Wheelwright over the middle. Then he threw one up to Todd Heap over the middle, who tipped it and grabbed it as he was being tackled, reminding me of the key grab he made in the Tennessee playoff game last season.

Ray Lewis headed to the locker room and returned a few minutes later. He received huge cheers as he ran along the sidelines from the fans in the stands. Funny thing is, he was probably returning from just going to the bathroom!

The sun is HOT! What happened to the clouds and rain prediction?

Baltimore Beatdown Interviews Ravens WR Marcus Smith

Bruce Raffel — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:16:14 -0000

Last week at the Baltimore Ravens final OTA, which was their Passing Camp of their off season umtil Training Camp opens July 29th, I had the great opportunity to stand on the sidelines, snap some photos, like the one above, and conduct a few one-on-one interviews post-practice in the players' locker room. Today's posting includes my interview with Ravens second year wide receiver, Marcus Smith. Smith was a 2008 4th round draft pick out of the University of New Mexico, where he put up great stats, including a senior year with 91 receptions and over 1100 receiving yards. Most people don't know Marcus actually started his collegiate career as a RB, which is probably why he is so good with getting serious YAC (yards after catch) when he has the chance.

Baltimore Beatdown interviewed Marcus soon after the Ravens selected him 106th overall in the 2008 draft and you can flip back to that interview from June 11, 2008 by clicking here. Click below for the audio interview I had with him last week, as he talks about his personal confidence in the increased role in the passing offense that the team is looking for out of him in 2009.

Baltimore Beatdown Interview with Ravens WR Marcus Smith

For those of you not interested or able to last the entire 2+ minutes of the spoken interview, here it is transcribed into the written word:

Baltimore Beatdown (BB): Marcus, Bruce Raffel, Baltimore Beatdown. You answered some questions from me before, through your agent, I think his name is Kevin?

Marcus Smith (MS): Yeah.

BB: About a year ago, when you first were drafted, it’s a big difference now. It appears you didn’t get a lot of playing time, a lot of looks last year. You did get some time last year towards the end of the year but this time it seems to be that you look to be a major part of the offense.

MS: I definitely feel that way, be it with the injuries that came along late in the year. Last year I definitely had to take over some of the practice reps and some of the game reps from Derrick and from Mark from them both being hurt. So now I feel that now, more mentally than anything else, I’ve developed myself as thinking I’m a starter. I’m not going in there as a three or a four receiver. I definitely feel I can contribute on the offensive side of the ball as well as Special Teams.

BB: After you were drafted, I looked at some of your stats from, New Mexico?

MS: Yes sir.

BB: I saw that you had, like 94 catches your senior year, so you’re certainly accustomed to being the focal point of the offense. What I’ve seen now to me, is that I don’t think it was an accident that we did not draft a wide receiver. I think that they felt all along that the core that we have can grow with Joe Flacco and the two of you, being roughly the same age, that you can be a passing combination that could be very well spoken of in this league.

MS: Definitely. Catching 94 balls was a great accomplishment. Breaking the record of Terrence Mathis, a fellow NFL guy, definitely felt pride and privilege to be able to have that opportunity. And now being here with Joe and getting the rapport now that I’m actually taking the reps more now with Derrick and Mark being nicked up from last year and continuing into the off season. I definitely feel that our rapport together is growing. I definitely feel that he trusts me a lot more now than during the season.

BB: And your confidence level from last year, walking in here as a rookie, dressing in the same locker room as people like Ray Rice and Trevor Pryce right next to you. Now you look at the rookies that are coming in now, are you rolling your eyes and saying "that used to be me?"

MS: Definitely. I’m glad it’s only one year. I definitely feel that those guys got a lot to learn, a lot to prove and I definitely feel that the expectations are still high for those guys coming in, expecting to play, contributing on the defensive side of the ball and offensive side of the ball.

BB: When you came in as a rookie, what type of hazing did they do to you?

MS: Nothing really major. We just had to buy a couple things for some of the guys.

BB: No taping to the goalposts or dunking in the ice bath?

MS: No, none of that. Harbaugh basically tries to shun away from little things like that so we definitely, although the o-linemen got it the worst. I think they taped them up and put them in the ice bath. Actually none of the wide receivers or anybody else really got it.

BB: You gonna take your turn with the rookies when you get a chance?

MS: We didn’t get any wideouts. We got two guys that were undrafted who are in here so I definitely feel that we’re gonna pick on them a little bit just because they’re younger and new. I’m not going to give it to them too hard because we didn’t get it too bad.

BB: Well you looked great out there and I wish you a lot of luck, allright?

MS: I appreciate it.

BB: Nice meeting you.

MS: A pleasure

BB: Thank you.